Lola

our party of two adults and two teenagers dined late on a Friday evening . The restaurant was fully booked. The staff were busy but attentive , thoughtful and entirely professional. We ordered several small plates to share tapas style. It was the way to go ; we each had a taste of several delicious creations. Highlights were the pork belly and crispy pigs ears; beef cheek perogies ; beef marrrow with several condiments to build your own crostini. The boys said the ice cream in the dessert was the best they had ever had. Ordering wine on the ipad is a smart touch. This was my first visit to Cleveland and the friendly people and Chef Symon's restaurants are a warm memory. Froggy J.

The atmosphere is great, it gets a whole star on its own. And the complimentary macaroons got a star as well. The service was decent, the food was alright. I ordered the Walleye. Two slabs of Walleye with Bacon, potatoes, and clams in a shellfish broth. The Walleye was a little heavy and fishy for my taste, but that could just be the fish. The beef perogies were good, although the sourcream had a pretty strong horseradish flavor and I am not a fan of that at all, but to each their own. My group ordered three desserts, I ordered the Lemon Lavender. I have no idea what was going on on that plate. A huge combination of bland lavender and extreme tangy zest that I couldn't get to blend. The Bacon ice cream was fun and interesting, but the Bacon was very overwhelming. And my boyfriend ordered the chocolate mousse which was very good. I also sampled the porkchops and the salmon, both were alright but nothing extraordinary and not really worth the price. But it was an enjoyable experience none-the-less.

This was our second trip to Lola in the last 4 months.   We were in Cleveland in June overnight on our way to a friend's wedding.  We had hoped to do a night out on the town at Lola with some friends, but when their kids got sick we opted to stay in for dinner.  We went to Lola for dessert and IMMEDIATELY regretted that choice.   I had the 6 AM Special, and my partner had the Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel dessert.  Both were spectacular.   We immediately made plans to come for my birthday dinner knowing we'd be in CLE in October.

Fast forward to October and the meal did not disappoint.  

The beef cheek pirogies and heirloom tomato salad were delicious starters.  The blue cheese in the heirloom salad had a whipped texture that was light and airy, but still melted in your mouth.  

The hangar steak with pickle sauce and fries, and sea scallops with corn, leek, bacon, and a roasted tomato salad were both to die for.  We both cleaned our plates (minus the huge container of fries) and I couldn't tell you the last time that happened in a restaurant.  

For dessert, we split the chocolate chip.   The crispy milk garnish is one of the most interesting parts of the dessert.   Overall it was delicious, but I would recommend either of the previous desserts we had first.  

I had the Lola Sidecar and Apple and Pear Sangria as cocktails.   Each were delicious, and if you are a sidecar fan there's is not to be missed.

Some notes on service:  We had an 8:45 reservation.  We learned that they do not take reservations on the tables outside.   We went over early as we were hungry and sat right down on a beautiful, fall night outside.  No waiting!  However, if you want to sit inside, reservations on weekends are a must.  

Our dessert took longer than expected as the chef was fresh baking the cookies.  She sent out samples of the house made pumpkin ice cream with our server while we waited, and it was DELICIOUS.  

I did notice the noise level inside was high, but our servers were attentive and kept things moving right along without rushing us.  

Absolutely fantastic experience and would gladly return!